3 July

The bit in the middle of a sundial that casts the shadow is called a gnomon. The etymology of the word is fascinating, it means 'one that knows or examines'. An object that knows. The ancient world wasn't like us, it didn't assume thinking took place in our heads, it believed that the world itself knows. The gnomon casts a shadow, which tells the time all by itself, but also reveals a vast range of information about latitudes and longitudes, just for starters. It doesn't need a human mind to do it. Darkness and light, more than metaphors for me.